Articles in category: Meaningful Use

The new stage 3 rule reflects both the successes and the failures of the first two stages. It moves toward making the EHR market more open and competitive, and providing more choices, in ways that I think are helpful — but possibly not helpful enough.

Raising the bar on some of the toughest aspects of Stage 2 while requiring healthcare providers to make some significant leaps in EHR adoption and care delivery by 2018, the Stage 3 meaningful use framework poses some difficult questions for eligible providers and hospitals struggling with interoperability and the burdens of leveraging EHRs for patient care.

For all of the enthusiasm around electronic health records (EHRs), the systems that providers have put in place are still limited in their effectiveness because, too often, they don't talk to one another and only add to the administrative burden that they are intended to help reduce.

When considering EHR integration, the way physicians use certain EHR features should be addressed, as there may be key differences among a group of doctors. Physician
EHR use
could correlate with the costs and quality of care at medical facilities.

The EHR Incentive Programs offered through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is meant to stimulate the
adoption of EHR
systems in order to improve patient safety and help physicians better comply with recommended practices.

With government incentives available, electronic health record (
EHR) use
among hospital emergency departments (EDs) and outpatient departments (OPDs) increased sharply from 2006 to 2011, according to a new analysis from the CDC's National Center ...

HR adoption is a necessary growing pain for the industry and a critical component of the digital health revolution. Without digital records as a foundational technology at the point of care, it is difficult to deliver innovation for the next generation of software and mobile solutions that are getting the bulk of the VC funding.

The EHR meaningful use achievement rate for nearly 5,000 eligible hospitals is 90 percent through December 2014, according to the latest numbers from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT.

New Frost & Sullivan research forecasts changes in hospital IT investments as healthcare organizations make significant investments in business and administrative information systems, ushering in a post-EHR era. According to the author of the research, the shift in the hospital EHR market reflects transformations in healthcare consolidation and reimbursement.

EHR use has the potential to enhance communicate and improve clinical teamwork, but current EHR design continues to present challenges for care management, population health, and EHR data governance, according to a recent study in the Journal of the American Informatics Management Association.

The federal government encouraged EHR adoption with incentive payments, funded as part of President Obama's stimulus plan approved in 2010, as well as the threat of reduced Medicare reimbursement for organizations that fail to digitize.

Today's healthcare IT leaders have a lot on their plates. The rush to digitize is hitting them hard -- but one CIO says it's shortsighted to simply focus on technology itself, not on the fundamental industry changes that tech will bring.

While doctors recognize the important advances that electronic health records have enabled, they have serious concerns about the negative impact that EHRs are currently having on their professional lives and patient care, according to RAND Corporation.

Transparency Market Research recently published a report anticipating a 38 percent compound annual growth rate in the market for medical-device connectivity through 2019, from $3.4 billion worldwide in 2012.

As the year drew to a close, I was interviewed by many trade publications about the key themes that shaped 2013. Here's my own version of the notable events of 2013. 1. Meaningful Use changed the EHR landscape
Regardless of your political affiliation, there is little debate that EHR adoption in the US achieved a tipping point in 2013.

Even with a dedicated IT staff, EHR adoption is a serious undertaking. Because of their limited staff and resources, smaller physician practices have plenty at stake when choosing a particular EMR vendor and system.